Ten Most Common Inherited Genetic Diseases

The first Thursday of every month is the b5media Science and Health Channel Theme Day. Today, everyone is coming up with a list of 10 interesting bits of information including 10 tips for Alzheimer’s patient caregivers at Alzheimer’s Notes and top ten list of supplies to have in a flu pandemic at Flu Patrol. A full-round up of all the lists is at MRSA Notes.

Out of curiosity, I looked for a list of most common genetic diseases. Of course, it’s not that simple. Most diseases are caused by a combination of genes and environment. Even inherited diseases can be caused by more than one gene and influenced by environmental exposures. Here’s a list of the top 10 most common single gene Mendelian disorders in the UK and their frequency per 1000 births from the Genetic Interest Group.

1. Familial combined hyperlipidemia – 5.0
2. Familial hypercholesterolemia – 2.0
3. Dominant otosclerosis – 1.0
4. Adult polycystic kidney disease – 0.8
5. Multiple exostoses – 0.5
6. Huntington’s disease – 0.5
7. Fragile X-syndrome – 0.5
8. Neurofibromatosis – 0.4
9. Cystic Fibrosis – 0.4
10. Duchenne muscular dystrophy – 0.3

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